Are your SLAs & KPIs measuring customer-valued outcomes?

Only the foolish would dispute the value of data in the modern customer experience. The challenge we face is that whilst we are data-rich, the ability to achieve our business goals is clouded by the amount of data available.  The solution is to create metrics that drive desired customer outcomes to meet business goals.  In…

Customer surveys and feedback: the fundamentals everyone needs to know!

Whether you are running hugely complex outsourced customer surveys, or light touch online short questionnaires, the real challenge for most of us is understanding what the survey data is telling us and making use of it wisely to drive a more positive customer experience. Most survey data is made up of qualitative and quantitative data,…

The ultimate customer mantra: Protect what you’ve got, then grow it profitably!

The ultimate customer mantra: Protect what you’ve got, then grow it profitably!

An open letter on Customer Service in Portugal

As someone with 25 years of customer service experience across 4 continents, delivering both B2B and B2C in various industries, I’m sad to say that generally in Portugal, the standard of customer service is amongst the poorest around the world.  This not only impacts my fellow residents in Portugal, who had to get used to…

Q&A: Customer Advisory Boards / Councils

In this week’s post, I’d thought we try a different format.  Customer boards have been around for quite some time, but have often been the preserve of mature businesses talking with their corporate and enterprise clients. In fact, for any business with clients who are bigger than them, a customer advisory board / council is…

Part 3/3: Core elements you need for your customer communication quadrant

In my previous two posts, I introduced the concept of the customer communication quadrant, representing the four most significant reasons for your to interact with your customers, and integrating with the four most significant business levers.  Having considered the four by four factors, hopefully now you understand the diagram – the arrow indicates the level…

Part 2/3: Core elements you need for your customer communication quadrant

In my previous post, I introduced the concept of the customer communication quadrant, representing the four core reasons for a customer to interact with a business, and the four business levers this impacts.  I walked through the level of importance for the business levers on the first two factors, Connect and Resolve, so this post…

Is your AI chatbot just a dumb IVR call tree?

Most businesses are struggling to cope with the pressures of Covid-19 – few if any had planned for scenariuos such as Covid-19 in their operating model.  Long wait times for customers, poor or incomplete responses or simply shutting off customer access to support are a few of the worst ways businesses are responding.  But a…

4 tips on managing the “reality gap”

Anyone who has ever worked in a customer or client facing role will have faced many, many challenges.  Dealing with customers is a calling, not a career choice made by most.  For the most part, people who chose to be in a customer facing role want to help, and are adept at using their soft…

Why “let sleeping dogs lie” is not an option when dealing with customers.

In one of my earliest customer facing sales roles, and the first b2b role I held, I had a boss who thought himself shrewd, wily and customer -savvy.  He always achieved his numbers, often had the highest sales and the most “net new names” accounts.  His strategy was simple and effective – to put customers…